Zimbabweans Doubt Mugabe Will Relinquish Power

Some Zimbabweans are expressing doubt
that embattled President Robert Mugabe will gracefully step down soon. The
statement follows Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai claims the unity agreement
enables Mugabe to have a "dignified exit".

Mugabe's
policies are often blamed for Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis.

Former
opposition leader Tsvangirai agreed to join a unity government with Mugabe to
resolve the country's economic meltdown.

Political analyst Rejoice Mbowenya
told VOA that Zimbabweans are not convinced Mugabe will
cede power to his opponents.

"As
far as we are concerned, the brand name that counts in ZANU-PF is Mugabe, and
there is nothing in the agreement that creates any opportunity or any
alternative for Mugabe to retire," Mbowenya said.

He
said Tsvangirai is being overly confident about Mugabe's possible exit from
power.

"I
think the prime minister is living in a very dangerous comfort zone. Mugabe in
each and every meeting that he has done after the unity agreement had mentioned
the importance of resuscitating ZANU-PF in strengthening its structures," he
said.

Mbowenya
said Tsvangirai has often questioned Mugabe's pledge about preserving human
rights.

"When
he (Tsvangirai) is put in a situation where has to comment about the human
rights violations and about the abuse of legislation and authority, he always
comes out clearly that Mugabe doesn't seem to be committed to living up to the
expectations," Mbowenya said.

He
said Mugabe wants to preserve his image.

"The
facts on the ground are very clear that Mugabe…wants to protect his political
reputation. And so far, Zimbabweans are not very convinced that the political
side of things is going on Tsvangirai's side," he said.

Mbowenya
said there are suspicions of the intent of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in the unity
government.

"The
history of the Zimbabwe political agreement only point to one thing, that when
ZANU-PF is talking about unity, they are talking about decimating opposition…
so ZANU-PF is a one party state institution," Mbowenya said.

Some political
observers say donors seem to be channeling funds through United Nations
agencies or charities instead of giving directly to the unity government where
Mugabe still wields significance influence.

Mbowenya
said ZANU-PF partisans have been speculating that they are being sidelined by
the donor community.

"The
public propaganda machinery is spinning stories around that the international
community through the funding agencies is trying to divide the government in
trying to isolate ZANU-PF members of parliament and entities in the
government," Mbowenya said.

But
he said some Zimbabweans welcome the apparent isolation of ZANU-PF members by
the international community.

Prime
Minister Tsvangirai in the United Kingdom has been wrapping up a three week
mission to North America and various European countries, hoping to raise more
donor funds to help jumpstart Zimbabwe's ailing economy.